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Alexander McQueen 17/3/69 -11/2/10

Each year I write about the man who is my fashion hero, the reason I sit here writing this. A small act of remembrance for a man that spurred this driving passion now have. In the last year I saw his exhibition at the V&A with my dear friend Sarah, we went very early during a members only slot and had the place almost to ourselves.

It’s a new era in fashion – there are no rules.

I needed that space, at times my eyes threatened to betray the profound sadness I feel at the loss of someone so important to me and the industry I love. But it can’t just be about the sadness, and the loss of a great artist so young. We should remember with joy and fondness what he gave us in that short arc of a life, and how he inspired a revolution in our countries fashion.

It’s all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-and-coming designers all together.

Each year after his passing more and more of the children that grew up adoring McQueen and being inspired have entered the industry. His legacy, for it is a true legacy, is that an entire generation who saw his genius will now pursue their own creativity. Not just those that work at his eponymous label, but every kid with a sewing kit who stared in awe at vogue, red carpets and every picture they could find.

There are only a handful of designers that influence other designers, and I have to keep one step ahead of the game.

We now not only have the generation that worked with or trained under McQueen like one of my fave designers Jasper Garvida, we have the generation he gave birth to. In that moment of sadness I feel whenever I think of him and how he inspired me I also find happiness that he created so much more than he ever could as just one man. The thousands carrying the philosophy of his design have created an army, a vanguard to his lifes work. What prouder tribute could there be than to be the father of a generation.

I want to be the purveyor of a certain silhouette or a way of cutting, so that when I am dead and gone people will know that the twenty-first century was started by Alexander McQueen.”